At least 50 people were injured when the snow-laden roof of an exhibition hall with hundreds of people inside collapsed in the southern Polish city of Chorzow on Saturday, police said. Police spokesman Andrzej Gaska said at least 50 people have been rushed to three area hospitals but there have been no fatalities so far."The injured are being rushed to hospital by ambulance, police car and fire-brigade vehicles," he said. "There has been no sign of any fatalities."Those in the hall were attending a pigeon show. PAP news agency said 500-1,000 people might have been in the hall.... http://news.yahoo.com

United Airlines' parent company made a $21bn (£11.8bn) loss last year due to charges arising from its bankruptcy. It suffered pre-tax losses of $16.6bn alone in the last quarter after it recognized many unsecured claims. But UAL Corp said its underlying losses had fallen and that it would emerge from bankruptcy protection next month with a "sound financial platform". United was one of several US carriers to seek bankruptcy protection due to soaring costs and flagging demand. It is radically restructuring its business in an effort to reduce annual costs by $7bn by 2010. United slumped heavily into the red last year after it was legally obliged to recognize unsecured claims as part of the bankruptcy process. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4655364.stm

In this rugged terrain that stretches over 3,600 square miles and includes two national parks and the Colorado River, search and rescue missions can be dangerous and expensive."In about a six or seven days' time, we've spent over $23,000," Grand County Sheriff Jim Nyland said recently. But with more than a million visitors a year, this county of 8,500 residents can no longer afford to foot the bill."A lot of people expect search and rescue to be free," said rescuer Bego Gerhart. "But in rural counties all over the West, how do you afford to be what you need to be with a small tax base?"So now, Grand County charges those who become stranded and lost. 'Exorbitant'Mark Mechau had to pay $650 to be rescued after becoming lost one night in his Jeep. He complained that too many people were sent out to find him."I'm a little upset about it," he said. "The bill was exorbitant, and I really didn't feel that it was equal to the task."...http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=1544291&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312

New footage of Briton Norman Kember and three other Westerners held hostage in Iraq has been aired on Arab TV. Mr Kember, 74, of Pinner, north London, was seized with two Canadians and an American on 26 November and was last seen in a video seven weeks ago. The new video, aired on al-Jazeera TV, includes a message from the group, which calls itself the Swords of Truth, demanding all Iraqi prisoners be freed. It says the four hostages will be killed if its demands are not met. The tape shows the four hostages standing against a wall and is dated 21 January. The men appear to be speaking to the camera but their words are not audible. Mr Kember's fellow captives are Canadians James Loney, 41, and Harmeet Singh Sooden, 32, and American Tom Fox, 54. Al-Jazeera said it had aired the whole of the recording, which was about 55 seconds long. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4657626.stm

A senior Hamas leader has rejected demands that the Islamic militant group must renounce violence to prevent aid cuts for the Palestinian Authority. Ismail Haniya, who headed Hamas' election list, said they would not give in to "blackmail" by foreign donors. President George W Bush warned US aid, worth $400m (£225m), could be cut following Hamas' surprise poll win. In fresh unrest, gunmen from the former ruling party Fatah climbed on to the Palestinian parliament and fired shots. Hamas won 76 of the 132 seats in the Palestinian assembly and has the backing of a further four independent MPs. Following the victory, the main donors to the Palestinian Authority, which has always been heavily reliant on international cash, said they were reviewing their funding position. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4657528.stm

Four years after the dramatic demise of Enron Corp., former chiefs Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling will enter a federal courtroom in Houston on Monday to face charges linking them to one of the biggest business disasters in U.S. history. The case against Lay, 63, and Skilling, 52, hinges on whether the two executives, who once enthralled Wall Street by creating a company that became the nation's seventh largest, were aware of Enron's financial shell game that pumped up earnings while hiding billions of dollars in debt. The Enron Task Force, a special unit created by the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate wrongdoing at the Houston-based company, will parade several former Enron executives who have struck plea agreements in front of jurors to try to tie Lay and Skilling to criminal acts of fraud and conspiracy. ...http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1552066